Friday, August 30, 2013

At long last, the new six inch Star Wars figure have arrived. It's good to see any new Star Wars product, in fact. This has been a pretty slow year for Star Wars action figures, so it is extra exciting to see a new scale, especially when it feels like the 3.75 inch line is winding down. Until the new movies start, the new six inch scale is making things fun again.

My first six inch Star Wars figure ended up being Darth Maul, who is so far the only prequel figure. As under utilized as he was in Phantom Menace, he is very visually striking, and makes for a great looking action figure. He comes packaged wearing his robe, which is a soft rubbery material rather than the soft goods of the smaller scale figures. It certainly has a better appearance than the smaller soft goods versions, although it is a bit more restrictive of movement. One of the accessories is his set of macrobinoculars, which he used on Tatooine while hunting down the missing Queen.

Darth Maul also includes an alternate head, for the non robed look. The cool thing is that the robe and its head are actually attached to each other, so that it will sit properly. It's easy to remove and swap heads, and the unrobed version is my preferred look as it's more action oriented. My only real complaint about the figure is with this head, and it's the paint on the horns. The red goes too high on the horns, but otherwise the paint looks good. If you have multiples to choose from, that is probably the problem area to look out for. Maul's other accessory is his double bladed lightsaber, which has a peg that plugs into his belt. The blades are removable, which is fortunate, as it would look pretty goofy hanging off his belt with the blades activated.

And the handle splits into two.

"At last we will have revenge."

"Not again!"

If Darth Maul is any indication, I'm looking forward to more of the six inch Black Series figures. At 20 dollars, they are a bit pricy, but they are well made that it doesn't feel like a total rip off. I will certainly be more choosy about character selection. Darth Maul is definitely worth picking up if you're into Star Wars figures. And maybe even if you're not.